Sunday morning the Norwegian national team informed that Ingvild Flugstad Østberg will not be able to start the Tour de Ski. Flugstad Østberg continues to struggle with the same health issues that kept her away from competitions for almost two years.

At this point, Flugstad Østberg realizes that she will not be able to participate in the Olympics in February.

“Ingvild’s health situation is unfortunately not good enough to compete in the Tour”, says medical officer Øystein Andersen.

“The planned follow-up after the first races shows that her health situation can not stand the race program. Ingvild must therefore once again take a longer break from competitions, which means that the Olympics unfortunately come too soon.”

“This was an incredibly tough message to get”, says Ingvild Flugstad Østberg.

“I have put in an extremely large amount of work, done my best, felt good and enjoyed participating in cross-country skiing again. Dreams are shattered, but I can do nothing but look ahead.”

In a post published on her Instagram, Flugstad Østberg wrote:

The Norwegian Team for the Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski Program